7.18.20 Pennsylvania Sprint Series Results
By: Frank Buhrman
Garrett Bard notched PA Sprint Series win #4 of the 2020 Season at Port Royal Speedway Saturday, coming from seventh starting spot – the biggest advance to a win since the season opener May 30 – and holding off a determined veteran Nathan Gramley at the end.
With defending IMCA/RaceSaver national and PASS champ Ken Duke Jr. of Selinsgrove and Lewistown’s Gramley, both former Port Royal RaceSaver champions, on the front row, it might have seemed that things would be settled there, but Bard and several other challengers had other ideas.
Gramley, who scored the last of his 10 PASS career wins three years ago, built a nice little lead in the early laps, but lap 3 caution for a slowing Kenny Heffner bunched the field again, with Gramley followed by Duke, Bard, Kassidy Kreitz and Doug Dodson, looking to improve on three straight runner-up finishes.
Of the group, it was Bard who made the move, passing both Duke and Gramley over the next five laps.
The veteran Gramley kept Bard in his sights, though, and when a close brush with the outside wall in turns 1 & 2 caused the leader to drop to a lower line, Gramley tried to take advantage of that.
Meanwhile, Dodson was taking the high road and used it to take third and then threaten for second at the end, falling just short.
Driving the CG Racing Engines/Barnett Self Storage #95 out of Wells Tannery, Bard – who just celebrated his first anniversary as a PASS driver the previous weekend – took the win by .719 seconds over Gramley, who in turn held off Dodson by a scant .124 seconds.
Duke held on for fourth, with “Nitro Nick” Swigert coming home fifth.
The remainder of the top 10 included Kreitz, Erin Statler, Devon Adams, Johnny Scarborough and Jared Zionkowski.
Three drivers – Swigert, Jaremi Hanson and Derek Hauck – tied for the $100 Penns Valley Meats Hard Charger Award by moving up eight spots from start to finish, but it was awarded to Swigert as the one who finished highest overall in the feature.
Heats for the 35 RaceSaver sprinters on hand were won by Kreitz, Bard, Duke and Ian Detwiler, with Hauck taking the B-main.
Even with that high car count, through the heats, B-main and feature, only five cars failed to finish (or start) their races, including Josh Spicer, who qualified for the feature and then had to drop out due to engine trouble.
Next weekend, the PASS teams return to Path Valley Motor Speedway as part of an action-packed show that also will include the Austin Gelwicks Memorial for late models, 270 & 600 micros, 4-cylinder thunder cars and SCDRA 4-cylinder strictly stocks.
Gates will open at the track at 4:00 p.m. with warm-ups at 6:00.
Port Royal Speedway results July 18, 2020
HEAT 1 – 1. 69K-Kassidy Kreitz; 2. 23-Nathan Gramley; 3. 5-John Walp; 4. 8-Nick Sweigart; 5. 10-Jake Waters; 6. 2H-Derek Hauck; 7. 25D-Dustin Young; 8. 54M-Todd Lynn; 9. 19K-Chris Kreider.
HEAT 2 – 1. 95-Garrett Bard; 2. 17K-Kyle Keen; 3. 2-Erin Statler; 4. 41Z-Jared Zionkowski; 5. 69P-Landon Price; 6. 97-Kenny Heffner; 7. 88-Fred Arnold; 8. 1H-Rowdy Heffner; 9. 99Q-Cale Reigle (DNF).
HEAT 3 – 1. 67 Ken Duke Jr.; 2. 20-Doug Dodson; 3. 55-Dominic Melair; 4. 46-Mike Alleman; 5. 36-Jaremi Hanson; 6. 71-Josh Spicer; 7. 51-Dave Graber; 8. M1-Justin Mills; 9. 4B-Jason Bergstresser.
HEAT 4 – 1. 18-Ian Detwiler; 2. 00-Jason Roush; 3. 99A-Devin Adams; 4. 61J-Johnny Scarborough; 5. 1R-Christian Rumsey; 6. 56-Jake Frye; 7. 19-Kruz Kepner; 8. 4C-Cody Hackenberry.
B-MAIN – 1. 2H-Derek Hauck; 2. 56-Jake Frye; 3. 88-Fred Arnold; 4. 71-Josh Spicer; 5. 25D-Dustin Young; 6. M1-Justin Mills; 7. 97-Kenny Heffner; 8. 51-Dave Graber; 9. 19-Kruz Kepner; 10. 1H-Rowdy Heffner; 11. 4B-Jason Bergstresser; 12. 54M-Todd Lynn; 13. 4C-Cody Hackenberry; 15. 99Q-Cale Reigle (DNF). DNS – 19K-Chris Kreider.
FEATURE – 1. 95-Garrett Bard; 2. 23-Nathan Gramley; 3. 20-Doug Dodson; 4. 67-Ken Duke Jr.; 5. 8-Nick Sweigart; 6. 69K-Kassidy Kreitz; 7. 2-Erin Statler; 8. 99A-Devin Adams; 9. 61J-Johnny Scarborough; 10. 41Z-Jared Zionkowski; 11. 36-Jaremi Hanson; 12. 17K-Kyle Keen; 13. 2H-Derek Hauck; 14. 69P-Landon Price; 15. 10-Jake Waters; 16. 1R-Christian Rumsey; 17. 88-Fred Arnold; 18. 18-Ian Detwiler; 19. 00-Jason Roush; 20. 5-John Walp; 21. 56-Jake Frye; 22. 46-Mike Alleman; 23. M1- Justin Mills; 24. 55-Dominic Melair; 25. 25D-Dustin Young; 26-Kenny Heffner (DNF). DNS – 71-Josh Spicer. DNQ – 51-Dave Graber; 19-Kruz Kepner; 1H-Rowdy Heffner; 4B-Jason Bergstresser; 54M-Todd Lynn; 4C-Cody Hackenberry; 99Q-Cale Reigle; 19K-Cris Kreider.